1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of power consumption in portable electronic devices, and in particular, by way of example but not limitation, to determining remaining battery power when one or more accessories is connected to a mobile terminal or other electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Many types of electronic devices utilize battery power instead of or in addition to A/C power from a socket. For example, laptop computers, mobile terminals, camcorders, etc. usually operate on battery power. Some of these electronic devices (e.g., especially mobile terminals) attempt to communicate to the user the time remaining for which the electronic device may be operated using the current battery before the battery is completely (or virtually completely) depleted.
Users of mobile terminals and other electronic devices typically wish to know the operational time remaining with an installed battery in order to plan properly for the eventual depletion of the battery and consequential loss of functioning of the device. For example, a user of a mobile terminal may wish to finish a current call, reach a destination in a car, transmit a document, or otherwise properly budget the remaining battery life in order to meet a desired objective. A user of a camcorder, as an additional example, may wish to complete the recording of a special event, the viewing of a tape at a remote location, etc.
Providing a user with an accurate estimate of remaining battery life requires that a current power drain be determined. Unfortunately, this determination can be difficult, especially as the number and type of power drains on a battery of an electronic device proliferate. There is therefore a need, that is heretofore unrecognized (much less satisfied), to determine an accurate current drain on a battery of an electronic device when the electronic device is connected to one or more accessories that also draw power from the battery of the electronic device in order for the remaining battery life to be accurately predicted. There is also a need, that is heretofore unrecognized (much less satisfied), to report a remaining battery life of a battery of an accessory, especially for those accessories that lack any ability to directly communicate a remaining battery life to a user.
The deficiencies of the prior art are overcome by the method, system, and apparatus of the present invention. For example, as heretofore unrecognized, it would be beneficial if an electronic device were aware of the current drain by a connected accessory in order to properly estimate an operational time remaining for the battery of the electronic device. In fact, it would be beneficial if the accessory connected to the electronic device communicated to the electronic device information representative of the current drain by the connected accessory.
In one embodiment, the accessory(ies) are connected to an electronic device and derive power from a battery of the electronic device. The accessory reports information regarding the power consumed by the accessory to the electronic device. The electronic device may then include the information in a determination of remaining battery life, which may be subsequently communicated to the user. In one alternative of this embodiment, the accessory monitors its operational parameters and derives a current draw therefrom. This current draw is reported to the electronic device. Other alternatives are described below in the Detailed Description.
In another embodiment, accessory(ies) are connected to an electronic device, but the accessory(ies) have access to an independent power supply (e.g., include their own battery). If the accessory does not have an ability to directly communicate to a user the remaining battery life of its battery, then the accessory may communicate information regarding the remaining battery life to the electronic device, which subsequently communicates the remaining battery life of the accessory to the user. This information may be in any of many forms, as explained in greater detail below.
The technical advantages of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the following. It should be understood that particular embodiments may not involve any, much less all, of the following exemplary technical advantages.
An important technical advantage of the present invention is that it enables a more accurate estimate of remaining battery life of an electronic device.
Another important technical advantage of the present invention is that it provides the ability to estimate the total power consumption for both the electronic device and an accessory connected to the electronic device.
Yet another important technical advantage of the present invention is that it improves the estimation of standby time in, for example, a mobile terminal electronic device.
Yet another important technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to optimally communicate to a user the remaining battery life for an accessory that may be unable to directly communicate the remaining battery life to the user.
The above-described and other features of the present invention are explained in detail hereinafter with reference to the illustrative examples shown in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described embodiments are provided for purposes of illustration and understanding and that numerous equivalent embodiments are contemplated herein.
It shall be emphasized that the term xe2x80x9ccomprises/comprisingxe2x80x9d when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, components, etc., but the term does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, groups thereof, etc.